Not Yet Home
by D'quer Jyi-Weil
Summary: Soul Edge has been defeated, but before the heroes can return to their former lives, a reincarnation of the former evil surfaces. Talim, Rafael, Ivy, Kilik focus


**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters or Soul Calibur II. Those are the property of NAMCO. 

**A/N**: Written for a challenge on FictionNET under these requirements. 

_ We are all clear as to what the main elements are, right? Earth, Wind, Fire, Water. Write about these in some way in fandom. No original work is allowed, nor is Harry Potter. Think about how they're used in...Captain Planet say, or A Song of Fire and Ice, or in those books by Eddings about the gods? shrugs Either way: Elements + Fandom (thats not HP) Go wild! _

The fic must be longer than 1500 words

So here you go, my fic. I'm contemplating continuing it... so let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

Talim, Priestess of the Village of the Wind Deity, looked hopefully to the horizon. She wished that she could see the terrain of Southern Asia as she gazed outward, seeing the whole scene vividly in her imagination. It had been six years since her departure from home. Six long years of grueling battles and a faceless evil brought her to her twenty-first birthday and this mountain cliff. Gulping in the fresh air, she remembered all the blood her tonfas, Syi Salika and Loka Luha, had tasted. It had been a long six years. Finally, it was all over. And on the morn of her twenty-first birthday, she was beginning her home… home for the first time in six years. She smiled, taking another deep breath. Soul Edge was finally destroyed and she could go home. Home.

Laughing a little to herself, she continued down the mountain. The wind whipped around her, glowing with purity. Evil had been renounced and finally, all the elements were in harmony. Talim wished that she could lift her arms and command the wind to carry her home. Unfortunately, she had not been trained in the shaman rituals before her quest. So she would have to walk, run, sail, crawl, and otherwise cross the terrain by foot, vessel, or animal. Not the least bit disheartened by this, she skipped merrily on, letting the wind dance through her long dark hair that she had let loose for the first time since the final battle. It felt good to be carefree and childlike again.

Part of her mind thought that maybe she had made a careless decision in accepting the mission that accompanied that evil shard of metal six years earlier. She had lost the last part of her adolescence to the fighting and the evil and the death. While she knew some children dreamed of this kind of life, she would have preferred to spend the time at home studying beneath the Wind Shaman. Ah well… there was always time to learn now that the evil was vanquished.

She traveled happily for two more sunrises and sunsets when the wind whipped around her apprehensively. "What's wrong?" she asked, having grown accustomed to its moods over the past years. It whistled past her ears in a high-pitched screech. "Evil is rising again?" she murmured, freezing in her tracks. "Do the others know?" Another gust on a lower pitch. "It's still subtle?" Short, quick, affirmative. "Maybe I can stop it. Where is it?" The next gale pushed her strongly to the South. She nodded and began sprinting over the now flat terrain. The wind rushed along beside her, bending and curving to guide her along the easiest path.

As she ran, Talim unsheathed her two tonfas and quickly checked their blades – dull from the years of battle. Within the next few yards she came across a stream and promptly knelt in its shallow waters to find a smooth stone. The wind tugged urgently at her hair. "I need to sharpen my weapons and prepare for battle." It continued to pull. If Talim was one to loose her gentle demeanor in stressful times, she would have snapped at the pesky breeze. But she was always calm, even at the height of stress and battle. "Please be patient. I must feel prepared to perform at my best." The wind finally stopped tugging and settled in an exasperated huff.

Left alone, Talim continued looking for a sharpening stone. She finally found a smooth enough rock. Gripping the edges as tightly as she could, she began to run an edge of her one of her two blades over the surface. Patiently, she sharpened all four edges of the dual-edged tonfas. As she repeated the movement, it sent her into a self-induced meditation. She centered her mind on her own power and the core strength of the wind. She channeled the cool detachment and level-headedness of the North Wind, the fearless aggression of the South, the speed of the West, and the balance of the East. With all these qualities, she learned that she could be as unstoppable and unpredictable as the atmosphere itself. Then, of course, she pushed all thoughts of home from her mind. As the future slowly unfolded before her eyes, she knew that her homecoming was months, perhaps years, away. So she sheathed her tonfas, and withdrew the four leather straps that held her hair back. With a ceremonious air, Talim separated her hair into four different skeins and fasted the straps around them. Turning her brown eyes to the South she nodded and whispered to the wind, "I'm ready now."

It needed no more prompting. Immediately it was rushing in a swirling pattern towards the Southern Swamplands.

Talim ran through four more sunsets, trusting the wind to guide her safely through the night. She was tired and worn (from the past four days and the previous six years) but her mind told her to keep running. Finally, at the edge of the swamplands, she collapsed. The wind didn't even push of pull. It settled down around her, understanding her human needs, and Talim immediately fell asleep, knowing the wind would protect her.

She awoke to a wet sensation on her chest. A large bullfrog sat inches from her face. Upon realizing she was awake, it let out an enormous croak and turned to the side for her to see. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the message scratched into its slimy flesh. "Come Talim. I await your death." She didn't even question the sender – the source of rising evil. The air around her was thick with humidity and the warmth nearly caused her to faint, but somehow a small breeze pricked through, urging her foreward.

Setting the frog gently down, she blinked the sleep from her eyes and whispered the go ahead to the wind. It set off, gusting cautiously so as not to lead her into any traps. Vines and moss dragged across her face and the muddy earth clung to her feet. Nothing wanted her to go any further. She could even sense that the wind was regretting its decision to bring her to this dark place. "I have to do this… for all our sakes," she whispered, and all attempts to hinder her movement were stopped. Lead by the wind, she bravely pressed on, Syi Salika and Loka Luha drawn and ready until she reached the center of the swamp.

And there she saw her opponent… much bigger, much more intimidating, and much scarier than Inferno. Part of her wished for the flaming being with infinite memories of weapons and fighting styles. Before her stood the ugliest and most frightening man she had ever laid her eyes on. His fingers were long double-edged blades that resembled her own beloved weapons. Fire dripped from every other inch of his body. She was sure that there were other abilities that she could not even fathom trapped within that hideous body. "I am Talim," she announced, stepping bravely forward. "And I challenge you to battle."

"I am Phijetsu. And I accept… little girl." His voice echoed through the swamp in a booming bass that sent her staggering back a step.

Talim dropped low into a crouch, ready to dodge and parry and whatever else it would take to keep her alive. "I am one with the Wind," she muttered under her breath out of habit. Her eyes narrowed as her opponent assumed a similar stance.

"And begin!" Merely his voice was enough to distract her. She shook her head to stop the ringing in her ears when she felt his fiery shoulder come in contact with her stomach. She flew backward, hitting a tree hard. Gasped for air, she lay sprawled on her stomach. The wind nudged her to the right and she quickly rolled, avoiding a deadly stab from Phijetsu's hands. It took him a moment to free his hands from the mud. And in that moment, she was on her feet and slashing at his midsection as she untucked from a somersault. But his midsection wasn't there. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized that missed, not by any fault in her aim, but because Phijetsu had separated his torso from his lower body and dodged her blow. He grinned toothily at her and with one great sweep of his hand, slashed her across the chest in an unstoppable attack. The last thing she remembered was his horrible laughter. And then everything went black.

Talim dragged herself back into a conscious state after what might as well have been hours. "What happened?" she asked, and the wind moaned its depressing answer. Phijetsu escaped and she had lost much blood after her attack. Groaning, she pushed herself up onto her elbows and groped at the ground for Syi Salika and; Loka Luha. Panic seized her. They were not there. "Where are Syi Salika and Loka Luha?" she shrieked, leaping to her feet despite the piercing pain in her chest. The wind moaned some more. He had taken them. A few tears had already streamed down her dirty cheeks when the wind told her that the theft wasn't even the worst news. Phijetsu had absorbed some of her life force and was now impersonating her as he traveled from village to village, spreading evil and darkness in her name. "No!" she gasped, trying to immediately sprint for the escaping evil. But her wound stopped her as the newly formed scabs ripped open again. She winced and the wind told her to rest. It would bring help, and then she and her allies could face the evil together.

* * *

Raphael was tired. He was worn. He was invigorated. He was ready to return to his former life. He set out from the site of the final battle with Soul Edge, Amy in his mind and France on his thoughts. It would be good to be home again. The battles had all occurred in some godforsaken land in the middle of the earth, from which he headed West. When he reached the shore, he promptly boarded a ship destined for his mother country.

Even though he was among strangers, it was nice to be among civilians again. It was nice to be feared because Flambert, his long, sturdy sword, hung from his hip. It was nice to see the gentle cheeks of women blush as he nodded his head towards them in a gentlemen-like fashion. It was nicest to see children cling to their mothers' skirts as he passed, their eyes wide with curiosity. Children… Amy. He was sure she wasn't a child any longer. After all, he had been away for six years. She would have grown into a young woman by now. A small smile touched his hardened features. A return home was most welcome.

Of course, he would have preferred some other mode of transportation. By the third day he was glued to the side of the ship, leaning over the edge to empty the contents of his stomach twice every hour. The only comforting thought was that he was an hour closer to being home. After one particularly painful episode on the sixth day at see, he noticed something dark in the water. It was too ambiguous to be a fish, and as he stared harder, a voice seemed to whisper to him on the wind. "A reincarnation of the defeated evil?" he whispered, nodding apologetically to the man who overheard. The intruder strode away uncomfortably, leaving Raphael to ponder this new development in solitude.

He shouldn't believe the voice. It was quite possible that he had imagined it. After all, he hadn't been able to hold any food for the six days. The hallucination was a side effect of the sea travel. But then a scene began to play out before his eyes. It was Talim, and she was facing a fiery figure. Inferno? It couldn't be. The he heard her girlish voice. "I am Talim. And I challenge you to a battle."

Why was she doing that? They were all free… free to return to their former lives. He knew that she wanted to return as much as anyone, so what was she doing? "I am Phijetsu. And I accept… little girl." He watched the quick battle, his face remaining free of emotion even as Talim sailed across the battlefield and lay limp in the mud.

He glanced down again and saw that the dark shadow was even larger. The wind whispered into his ear again, and he no longer disputed the idea. The only thing Talim would let deter her from her homecoming would have been the reincarnation of evil… and Soul Edge could not be released again. Drawing Flambert, he took a deep breath and dove into the center of the watery shadow. Quickly seeing the underwater arena, he pulled and pulled at the water, only hoping that he would reach it before his breath ran out.

In a wet and breathless mess, he flopped into the center arena. He coughed up a lungful or two of water, and then tightened his grip on his sword. An absolute menace stood before him. If monsters could have gender, this one was hideously female. Long strands of watery hair framed her disfigured face. Her body was not much to look at either, but she surveyed him unashamed of her own ugly nakedness. In her hand was a crudely made triton, a poor replication of Poseidon's legendary weapon. Unconcerned about his own wellbeing, he saluted her with Flambert. "I am Raphael. I challenge you to a battle."

She smiled toothily at him, mimicking his salute with her own weapon. "I am Aq-jetsu. I accept."

Raphael loosened his grip on the hilt and nodded. "Let us dance."

In a quick attack, he had ducked beneath her triton and grabbed her from behind. But before he could execute any sort of maneuver, an unbelievable wave of drowsiness overcame him. Aq-jetsu quickly turned the hold on him, pinning him to the floor beneath her trident. Flicking her hair in a mockery females, she slapped all of the strands over his mouth. Suddenly, he couldn't breath. In his panic for air he failed to notice the purple beams that the water was pulling from his body. He was drowning beneath her hair. Raphael struggled and kicked and tried to stick her with Flambert, but it was no use. She stayed frustratingly out of his reach. As blackness came over him, Amy's face flashed through his mind, but it was too late. He slipped into unconsciousness.

When he awoke, his whole body felt as though it had absorbed a few tons of water. Aq-jetsu was no were in sight. And neither was Flambert. "FIEND!" he shouted, guessing that she had stolen his beloved weapon. Groggily, he got to his feet. As soon as he was standing, a gust of wind came into the cavern. Looking up, he realized that a column of air had pushed its way through the sea to reach him. It swirled around his body and lifted him into the air. He did not fight or argue. He knew Talim's connection with the wind and could only assume that she had come to his assistance.

* * *

Ivy walked solemnly though the full, yet empty, streets of London. Immediately after the final battle, she had departed for home, reaching the familiar city in a swift eight-day journey to the North. While she could have completed her self-imposed mission right there on the battle field or in the shadows of some forest, she had decided to live the last meaningful days of her life in the only place she had known happiness… the Valentine home. It was dually the source of her happiness and her pain. It was only fitting that she die in that place.

Filled with absolutely no regret, she reached the manor and solemnly climbed the steps, her weapon, Valentine, hanging limply from her hip. Even through the source of its power had already been destroyed, it seemed to know that it and Ivy's end was near. It was only fitting, Ivy told herself again. She was the last link to Soul Edge's evil. She had to be destroyed.

The manor was dark, deserted since her departure. She sighed, tossing her short white hair around her face. No need for light. It would all be over soon anyways. She drew Valentine from its sheath. "It is time," she murmured. But as she drew a hammer from her belt, a large being crashed through the nearest window and threw her to the floor.

Made alert from years of battle, she was soon back on her feet and had turned on the nearest gas lamp. "Welcome home Ivy," the man hissed. His whole body was covered in writhing vines. They were a deep scarlet, obviously feeding on his blood rather than the sunshine. "I am Terjetsu."

Icy said not a word, only swung Valentine before her. Terjetsu grinned evilly and pressed his hands together. Vines shot together and wound themselves into a tight whip. Seeing his intent, she flicked her wrist and Valentine morphed from sword to bladed whip. She let out a battle cry and charged him, lashing out with Valentine. He whipped his own vine-weapon to meet her own. She staggered back, staring at the newly demolished Valentine. Ivy had been sure that she would easily slice through the vines, but apparently her assumption was mortally wrong. His natural weapon had shattered her age-tested weapon of metal and power. Before she could ask, "How?" he swung the vines at her and launched her through a window. The vines connected and absorbed a green shimmer from her skin. She didn't notice. She just let the attack happen, assuming that her death had been imminent anyways. What difference did it make if it was by her own or another's hand? But before her body hit the ground, the wind had enveloped her and was carrying her gently away. "No!" she shouted, fighting uselessly against the element. She needed to die and she needed to die now. How dare nature interfere!

Unseen by Ivy and the wind, Terjetsu bent over the demolished Valentine and with a wave of his hand, its pieces melded together. He smirked maliciously and then promptly disappeared.

* * *

The wind set a fighting Ivy gently before both Raphael and Talim. Neither were surprised that she was struggling against the transport. "Calm down, Ivy," Talim said gently. "You're safe now."

"What do you know of safe!" Came the sharp reply. "I do not need to be safe." _I need to be dead,_ she thought inwardly, looking to Raphael for his sword. It was not there. Neither were Talim's elbow blades. "Where are your weapons?" she asked, knowing that both were highly attached to their weapons.

"They've been stolen," Talim replied, glancing to Raphael who nodded in agreement. Before Ivy could make some sort of comment, she continued on with her explanation. "I can only assume that you've faced an elementally themed super human, or monster. I fought fire and Raphael faced water."

"Earth was my opponent I assume."

"Our weapons were stolen by our opponents and now they are wrecking havoc on cities and villages with our weapons… in our likeness."

"How do you know this?" Rafael asked, for she had not explained the situation fully to him yet.

"The wind relayed it to me. Those beings we fought were the reincarnations of evil."

Ivy thought to argue, but decided that maybe it wasn't the most insane idea. But then she remembered that Valentine had been shattered. "They can't be using my weapon. It was destroyed in battle."

Neither Talim nor Raphael nor the wind had an answer for this. "Even if that is so, we will need your help to defeat this evil. The world needs to be made safe for the defenseless," Raphael said, thinking of Amy and the new danger she may be in.

"Well then let's go and find this new source of evil and destroy it," Ivy retorted impatiently. "What good are we doing standing here?" She figured that she could easily manipulate her own death in the battle that was sure to happen, and there was no need to prolong her life.

"We must wait for one more," Talim replied.

"Who?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then how are you sure that they are coming?"

Talim looked from Raphael to Ivy. "There is one element left to fight."

* * *

Kilik had stared at the very spot where Soul Edge had been defeated for quite a long time. At least, it felt like a long time. It may have been seconds. It may have been minutes. It may have been days… months… even years. However long, he finally broke out of what felt like a trance. He didn't want to leave. He felt as though this all wasn't over, but still he brought himself to leave. He figured that he should return to China and to his mentor. While the evil was vanquished, there was still more that he had to learn.

He did not remember most of the journey. The miles of land and oceans crossed on his eastward trek meant nothing to him. He only wanted to train. Without a martial goal, he had no purpose in life. And while he was not dumb, he was not nearly creative enough to invent a new goal now that the one that had consumed the last six years of his life was over. Done. Defeated. But finally, he reached China, grateful to be back in his home country. In a desperate effort to reconnect to the history of his homeland, he made the long trek to the Great Wall and strolled casually along the top.

It had been a long time since anything in his life had been casual, from his early days in the shrine to the last battle with Soul Edge. Unfortunately, the casual stroll did not stay casual for long. A bat-like creature swooped down from the sky, knocking him to his feet and Kali-Yuga out of his hand. "I am Skijetsu," it cackled, shaking its womanly body at him, "and you shall never be reunited with your beloved staff. Cry mortal. Cry." He couldn't even shout an insult in reply before she dug her talons into his neck and bashed his head into a nearby tower, causing him to faint abruptly. As her talons ripped themselves from his skin, a blue flow with them. He didn't feel the vertigo as he fell from the Wall and he didn't feel the wind buoy him up and carry him away.

So when he awoke, he jumped upon seeing Talim leaning over him, tending carefully to his wound. "Good. You're awake. We have much to explain to you."

"Where am I?" he asked, pushing her hand away from his neck.

"You're hurt. Rest."

"I'm fine. Now, what is going on?" Talim sat back on her heels and looked deep into his face. "Evil is rising again. You fought the Air aspect of the enemy. Ivy, Rafael, and I faced Earth, Water, and Fire respectively. Our weapons have been stolen and the enemies have our weapons and are impersonating us as they wreck the world."

Kilik stared at her only for a moment. "What are we doing here?" he shouted, leaping to his feet. "Let's go and kill the bastards."

"Sit down, Kilik," she laughed, easing him back down in front of her. "You're hurt and we're all recovering. Soon we will find them and teach them the meaning of destruction. Soon, Kilik. Soon."

* * *

The four allies approached the burning village weaponless and completely unsure of what awaited them. Villagers screamed at their approach, brandishing crosses and kitchen knives, mistaking them for their evil counterparts. Talim tried once to calm a hysterical woman, but Kilik soon pulled her away. It was then that they all realized that they either restored their good names to the world, or died trying. It was the only way. When they reached the center of the village, the four elemental monsters were waiting for them. Only Raphael could restrain Kilik long enough for Ivy to step forward and try to reason.

"Give us our weapons."

The answer was collective. "No."

She cocked her head submissively before shouting, "THEN DIE!"

Each warrior charged at his or her evil counterpart. Sword and staff connected with skin as each human launched of flurried attack of feet and fists. Blood was drawn on both sides. Slash. Parry. Punch. Dodge. Fall. Skid. Crack. Bash. Roll. Somersault. Kick. Flick. Whip. After a short-lived battle, Talim, Kilik, and Raphael were panting on the ground. Their counterparts taunted them with their beloved weapons. But Ivy was still fighting Terjetsu. She dodged every attack he made with Valentine, and at times, landed more attacks than he did.

"Give it up," he growled, trying to cut across her face with the whip.

"Never. I know my sword. I can evade forever."

"It is because of this sword that we live." He tried to bash her head in with the hilt, but she caught his wrist.

"You lie," she hissed, her face inches from his in the clinch.

"I don't." He laughed in her face. "Surely you know that you and your sword are directly linked to Soul Edge. You believed that the curse was lifted in its death, didn't you? Well… it wasn't. It still perpetuated. You should have killed yourself and destroyed this weapon when you had the chance." Ivy was so shocked at this revelation that she didn't move when he ripped his hand from her grip. She didn't move when he swung Valentine at her chest. And she moved no more when he had cut her through the ribcage. She died, knowing that she was the cause of the newest evil uprising.

The other three watched as a green glow flowed from her body into Phijetsu, Aq-jetsu, Terjetsu, and Skijetsu. They all seemed to grow bigger, casting shadows on everything in their path. Taking their original shaped, they tossed the weapons back to their owners. "We have the soul of the last descendant of Soul Edge," they hissed in unison, converging to form a giant, black mass in the sky. "We no longer need you." And as its laughter chilled the spine of every creature on the earth, it vanished.

Of course, Talim, Raphael, and Kilik knew that it would return. And when it did, they would be there to challenge its power. They… and their allies. This evil would be conquered. This evil will be killed. As Raphael and Kilik wordlessly began to dig a shallow grave for Ivy's body, Talim looked to the horizon. "So much for returning home," she whispered. The next battle of the everlasting war had begun.


End file.
